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TAXILA, July 17: President General Pervez Musharraf said on Tuesday that despite threats of extremism and terrorism from within, he was determined to take forward the vision of the Quaid-i-Azam towards an enlightened and forward-looking Pakistan.

Addressing at the inauguration ceremony of Heavy Industries Taxila Education City (HITEC), the President said that the country was not facing any external threat as its forces were strong enough to deter any aggression.

He said, “The Quaid visualised this country to be an enlightened, forward-looking and progressive country and that is what we want to do”.He pointed out, “Extremists are a minority but unfortunately they are violent, aggressive, prepared to kill and ready to die. This is more unfortunate”.

He said fringes of society were afflicted by an unfortunate tendency towards extremism, further leading towards terrorism.

Gen Musharraf said in Islam no one had the right to take anybody’s life, nor his own. “Suicide is forbidden in Islam, but unfortunately the extremists do not fully understand it. They ignore that part of Islam which does not suit them,” he said.

He said that the extremists wanted enforcement of Sharia in Pakistan, “though we already have an Islamic system in the country and under the Constitution no law can be imposed that is repugnant to the teachings of the Quran and Sunnah.”

He said the extremists talked of social ills, but these had nothing to do with Islam as all societies had such problems and stressed that there was a need to remove them.

The Heavy Industries Education City has been established by the management of Heavy Industries Taxila (HIT) at a cost of over Rs1.07 billion and completed in three years at the foothill of Margalla. A large number of students, teachers, parents and senior military officials attended the ceremony.

The president said: “Our strategy of indigenisation to ensure our strength and security is being contributed strongly by HIT.” He said no nation can progress and develop without a strong defence.

“Peace only comes through strength and we live in a cruel world, where weak do not survive,” he added.

President Musharraf earlier inaugurated the HITEC complex spread over 101 acres which houses a modern school to which a college and university were being added.